One Happy Family
by CSI-missy
Summary: this was a challenge from csifiles. I'm rating T cause it's NickGreg slash and I wouldn't let little kids read slash, it might scar them... any ways: Someone leaves a baby on the doorstep with a letter saying please take care of himher
1. Happy Family

PAIRINGS: Nick/Sara OR Nick/Greg  
SYNOPSIS: one of them find a basket in front of their doors: there is a baby and a note "please take care of her (him)"

Greg was going to be late for work for the third time in four days. And the way things were going, he was running almost an hour behind schedule. He ran a brush though his fly away hair making it at least look like he'd done something with it. He'd fix it when he got to work. He made some toast and was bolting out the door when he saw it. Something that would change the young lab tech's life forever. It was a basket, sitting on the step leading up to his little house, with a blanket draped over it. He pulled the blanket down and saw what was inside, a small baby lay there, fast asleep. Greg smiled a little half smile. There was a note too, so he picked it up and read it.

"I'm sorry to ask this of you when I've never met you. But can you please take care of him?" Despite the fact that it was phrased like a question, Greg didn't see how he had any choice. He didn't mind though, secretly he'd always wanted a baby. He picked up the basket and brought it inside, placing it on the couch. He looked at the sleeping boy inside and then realized he was in no position to take care of a child. He was late for work; he had no baby stuff, except the baby cloths that his mom had given him, and he was a single guy. Greg ran his fingers through his hair; he was going to need serious help for this.

"First things First," he said to the empty apartment, "I need to call Grissom." He was half way to the phone when he realized how much of a bad idea that was. "Grissom won't understand, it's always science first with him…Oh god." Greg started pacing, wondering why they hadn't phone him yet since he was-he checked his watch-half and hour late. As if on cue, the phone rang and Greg grabbed it quickly so it only rang once. "Sanders," he said.

"Greg?" Came a voice on the other line, it was Nick.

"No, it's the other Sanders that lives at this house. What'd you want, Nick?"

"Whoa. Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed. I just want to make sure you're alright, G. You didn't show up for work yet and I got you on the home line. What's up?"

"Sorry, I slept in and then…" He debated telling Nick about the new arrival. They'd been friends for a long time, sometimes Greg felt closer to Nick then anyone, and less like a friend and more like-no. He wouldn't think about that, it had gotten him in trouble once before. Nick was a friend, nothing more nothing less.

"Then what?" asked Nick, breaking Greg's train of thought. Greg shook his head.

"Nothing. It's okay. Can you tell Gris I'm not coming in today. I don't feel well and I don't want to contaminate evidence with my cold bug."

"You don't sound like you have a cold," teased Nick.

"Well I do. Cough cough. Can you come over after work?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure. You sure you're alright?" Nick was genuinely concerned for his friend, who never missed work unless he absolutely had to.

"I'm fine, Nick. Just got a cold."

"Yeah, right. I'll see you later." Greg hung up the phone and looked at the basket on his couch. He looked at it for a moment then made a decision. His neighbour, Lacy Thomas, had a couple kids, maybe she could help him out a little. He thought about turning to Catherine, but Lacy was closer, and not working. He grabbed the basket and headed next door. He knocked on the door, it was late so the kids would be in bed, but Lacy was a bit of a night owl. She answered the door in blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Her black hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She was about thirty and had two kids, two and four. Lacy looked at Greg for a moment, then at the basket in his hands. She wasn't sure what he wanted.

"To what do I owe to pleasure, Mr. Sanders? I don't see you often since you're always working. And with a baby? Didn't know you had a girlfriend."

"I don't. He was left on my step sometime this evening."

"I'm not takin' him off you're hands, I got enough kids of my own."

"No, I was just wondering, if…you could give me a hand?"

"I see. What do you need?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure." She opened the door and Greg walked in, placing the basket on the couch.

"The necessities, except cloths. I have lots of those."

"So, crib, dipper bag, dippers, formula, bottles, ect.?"

"Um…yeah. And a bit of advice."

"I can get you all that. Except the formula and dippers, you'll have to get them yourself."

"Thanks."

"You thought of a name yet? Or did he come with one?" Greg felt slightly sheepish. He hadn't thought of a name. Lacy saw that and smiled.

"It's okay. You can think of that later, but don't get into the habit of calling him baby or he'll think that's his name."

"Alright, I'll think of something. Do you need any help getting the stuff? I can-"

"The crib is in the back closet. Can you grab that? I'll get the rest."

"Sure." Greg stood up and headed to the back closet. Two hours later, everything was set up in his house, his computer room had been transformed. He'd moved the computer, the only thing in the room, to the table in the kitchen so he could use the computer desk for the baby stuff. The drawers were filled with cloths and the desk part became a temporary change table. Lacy promised to show Greg what to do when the baby woke up. By the time Lacy left, Greg had thought of a name.

"I think I thought of a name," he said as she was leaving.

"Yeah? What's that."

"Jason. Jason Sanders." Lacy smiled, obviously tired.

"That's a beautiful name. Call me if you need anything."

"I will. I promise." Greg climbed into bed. Lacy had run out while he was moving stuff around and bought a small thing of formula and a thing of dippers from an all night grocery store. The formula was in the fridge and instructions on what to do when Jason woke up were pinned to a cupboard. Greg didn't think he'd get to sleep, he was supposed to be working, but he did doze off for an hour before Jason woke up the first time. Greg turned out to be a pretty good mom. Making formula and all that wasn't so hard. Then he fell asleep with Jason on the couch. Jason woke up twice before Nick showed up the next morning and let himself in. He was stunned when he saw Greg asleep on the couch, with a baby in his arms. Nick went numb. Maybe Greg did have a girlfriend, maybe that girlfriend had had a baby and that's why-No. Greg would've told them, he would have told Nick. Careful not to wake the baby he walked over and put a hand on Greg's shoulder and shook him gently.

"Greg. Greg. Wake up." Greg opened his eyes slowly and looked up at Nick with a smile.

"Nice to see ya, Nick."

"This why you couldn't come to work?"

"Yeah. Someone left him on my front step."

"What's his name?"

"Jason."

"Nice. What do you need?"

"Right now? I need coffee. In a minute and for the next eighteen or so year? I need someone to help me."

"What about-"

"Catherine? Sara? The lady next door? They'll help too, but I need someone to lean on."

"Like a friend?"

"Like you, Nick. I need a friend, I need a…" Greg trailed off, looking at the small boy lying on his chest. Nick nodded. He understood. Greg needed someone to love. Nick was probably the only one who knew that Greg wasn't really the playboy he claimed to be and that all the 'girlfriends' were just ways of hiding.

"I understand," he said, sitting on Greg's coffee table.

"Really?" he asked, there was a glimmer of hope in his voice and a small tear in his eye.

"Yeah. You need someone."

"Someone like…you?" he asked.

"Yeah. I can do that for you."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Really." Nick leaned in a planted a small kiss on Greg's forehead. Then he looked down at the two. He gave Greg one of his most charming smiles before grabbing his camera and taking a couple pictures of the two.

"Hey, don't wake the baby," said Greg.

"Yes, Mom."

"Don't you 'mom' me, Mr. Stokes. I expect you to take care of him too. I'll be mom, you be dad, and we'll be a family," said Greg before he could really think about what he just said. Nick laughed.

"Got it. Mom, Dad and Baby Jason. One happy family."

"One happy family."


	2. outing the guys

**Disclaimer: **Still don't own them, can't change that or make money off it or anything of the sorts. So here it is. the next chapter of what was origionally a one shot.

**A/N: **I really love reviews so feel free! Thank you to all who reviewed! I love to have my ego fed by reviewers!

"Formula, diapers, wipes, is that everything?" asked Greg. Nick smiled, putting a hand on Greg's shoulder. Jason was in the shopping cart baby seat and Nick pushed the cart. They weren't really sure how this was going to work, but Greg was insistent that they could make it work.

"Yeah, Greg. Lacy brought over everything else this morning. You'll be fine. But how are you gonna take care of Jason? I mean, you do have to go back to work eventually."

"I was thinking I'd call in on short term disability. I just don't know what to say…"

"You could tell the truth and go on mat leave," joked Nick. Greg shot death glares over Jason's head to Nick, who just laughed. Jason looked up at Nick and Nick smiled down at the baby. They were a happy family. Greg snatched the formula off the shelf and put it in the cart. He looked at Jason.

"Maybe I will, you know…go on 'mat leave' or something like that. Taking care of a kid isn't a crime, and I can do it."

"Wait, you'd take a whole year off? To take care of a baby that isn't yours?" asked nick. He was almost shocked, yet he'd know that Greg would do anything for Jason. Greg took a deep breath, and with confidence, he nodded.

"Yeah. I'll call Grissom tonight and tell him. Or better yet! I'll go in and tell him in person. Then Cath and Sara can see Jason!" He seemed genuinely happy, so Nick just nodded in agreement as they continued shopping.

That night Greg bundled Jason up in the warmest cloths he could find, and put him in the car seat that Lacy had given him. He drove down to the lab, unsure of what to say and just hoping that Grissom would understand. It was five in the morning and Jason wasn't going to back to sleep so it was the best time to do this. When they arrived, Jason cried a little, but when Greg picked him up he seemed content.

"There, there. We're gonna go see daddy and friends. Let's go, Jason." They walked into the building, it was mostly empty. Something that was common at five in the morning. He walked past the desk; he worked here so why shouldn't he be there. He smiled at the receptionist, but she was busy with computer work. He headed to the lab, hoping that nobody would saw them, but no such luck. A figure appeared out of the trace lab; Hodges.

"What's with the baby?" he asked, Greg looked at Jason and he smiled.

"He's mine, Hodgins. Meet Jason Sanders."

"You're married?"

"No, someone left him on my doorstep, so I adopted him. I'm going down to social services today to talk to a social worker about it."

"I see, and you're gonna be a daddy?"

"Actually-" he thought about telling Hodges about the family arrangements, but decided against it. "Yeah, I am." Hodgins looked at him, then Jason.

"Alright, good luck." And he was gone.

"That's it?" he thought, he had been certain that he would have to deal with Hodges' evil wit and ridicule. He shook his head and kept walking. Next he ran into Archie and Bobby. They looked at Jason then at Greg.

"What's up, Greg?" asked Archie.

"Yeah, and who's baby is that?" asked Bobby.

"This is Jason, he's mine. Someone left him on my door and I adopted him." Both nodded and headed on their way. Once again, Greg was startled by how easy it was for people to accept the fact that he had a kid. He was sure the girls wouldn't take to the idea as easy. Especially if they found out that he and Nick were going to be family together. He took a deep breath as he reached the staff room, where he was certain that others would be hanging out, comparing cases and waiting for the day to end. Everyone was there, scattered around the small room. Nick looked up first, maybe he'd already told them.

"Hey, Greggo! You brought Jason down?" he asked. So far so good.

"Yeah, is that a problem?" asked Greg. Everyone else looked up to see Greg with the small baby boy in his arms. Catherine's jaw dropped to the counter and Sara's eyes looked like they'd pop out of her head. He was right, the girls were freaking out. Grissom seemed confused and Warrick could hardly stop himself from laughing.

"No, I was just about to make the announcement, wasn't I?" Nick asked the others, Warrick nodded, bursting from trying to hold the laughter in, apparently Nick had already told him. "I already told Warrick, in case you didn't guess."

"Whose baby is that?" asked Catherine, finding her voice.

"And why do you have it?" added Sara. Greg smiled.

"He was left on my doorstep, so I adopted him. His name is-"

"Jason Stokes Sanders," said Nick, cutting him off. Okay, that was new. When did they agree on a middle name?

"Hold on, Stokes Sanders?" asked Warrick, apparently Nick hadn't filled him all the way in.

"Yeah, he's gonna be mine and Greg's baby." Nick was so casual about it as if outing the two of them to the lab was nothing. Greg was blushing the darkest shade of red he'd ever turned.

"Both of you?" asked Grissom. Nick nodded and Greg followed suit.

"How are you planning to work and take care of a child?" Sara asked. Greg turned to Grissom with pleading eyes and Grissom felt like a mind reader.

"You want time off? Under what cause?" he asked. Greg looked down and Nick came to his defence, standing beside the young tech he looked Grissom square in the face and said it, making Greg's face go a darker red.

"He wants to go on either short term disability or Mat Leave." It was too much; Warrick finally burst and started laughing. Apparently Nick had told him that much. Grissom was stunned, his jaw dropped and Catherine and Sara exchanged the look of utter confusion. Warrick wiped his eyes to dry the tears and Catherine and Sara shook their heads, but the shock wasn't done yet. Grissom nodded,

"Alright. I'll figure something out."

"You're serious?" they all asked. Grissom nodded and left. Greg's smile spread from ear to ear and Nick gave a relieved sigh. Warrick shook his head and walked over to the couple. He put a hand on Nick's shoulder.

"Good luck," he said as he left. As he left, the maternal urge and the woman's need to hold a baby kicked in for the two remaining CSIs and they rushed over, cooing and talking and asking to hold the baby. Greg let Catherine hold him and watched as the two women smiled at the small child. It was going to work out, he just new it.

----

If you wanna know how it all works out, I'll write more if I hear back from you guys.


	3. The first few months

**So! The much antisepated next chapter...More to come, I promise! Liesi, thank you for giving me some ideas, I had to dig out my baby book after that and go through the first three months!**

Okay, so being a dad wasn't as easy as it seemed. Greg suddenly had a whole knew respect for his own parents, as did Nick. Nick, the baby of seven children, was having trouble with just one and continuously wondered, out loud of course, how his parents had ever dealt and why they'd insisted on such a large family. And even though they hated the responsibility of taking care of a child, they loved the small boy with all they're hearts. It had been almost a month since Jason had been left on Greg's door step, and since then, so much had changed. Nick had moved into Greg's little town house so that they still had Lacy to help out when needed. Since then so much had happened. Jason had made two trips to the doctors, for shots and a check up. Greg's doctor, Dr. Richards, had been surprised to see Greg and Nick together.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," he'd said. The two men had smiled as Dr. Richards took a look at Jason.

"Well?" asked Greg, already affected by the motherly instinct. Being the one to find the baby, he'd taken the responsibility and the bond so often associated with motherhood. Dr. Richards smiled and nodded.

"Jason is right on schedule. He's moving a lot, trying to hold up his head, making eye contact with close objects and he's even starting to smile."

"That's good to know," said Nick. Dr. Richards looked at him and nodded.

"It's very good. Some 'encouraging activities', things to motivate Jason, are talking and singing to him, and playing peek-a-boo and such."

"Anything else?" asked Greg.

"Sure, get a mobile to put over his crib, one that makes music, and continue to be the best, loving parents you can be."

"Thanks, Dr. Richards." They left the clinic and headed home, Nick needed to get some sleep before going back to work that night. Over the first month, Jason grew more alert, developing what Nick liked to call 'his CSI skills'.

"Look, he'll be just like his daddy," said Nick one day after work as he watched Jason turned his head slightly to look at Sara, who had come over to see Jason. Greg smiled, making dinner for everyone.

"What'd you mean?" she asked, Nick smiled, picking Jason up.

"He's always looking around, checkin' people out, listenin' to music, and he always recognizes Greg. Isn't that right?" he asked Jason, holding him up and adapting baby talk. Sara laughed, and Jason turned a little to try and look at her.

"He is adorable."

"You wanna hold him?"

"Sure." Nick passed Jason to Sara and she cuddled him up. Greg brought out Jason's bottle and passed it to Sara.

"You think you could feed Jason while I make dinner?" he asked. Sara nodded and took the bottle. Somewhere from the kitchen, music was playing, different music from the stuff Greg used to listen to at the lab. It sounded more like what Nick liked to listen to. Jason fell asleep in Sara's arms and Greg took him off to bed while they sat and ate dinner. Greg and Nick were talking about the baby shower that Greg was planning.

"I can't wait, a baby shower and a Christening, and-"

"Telling our parents?" added Nick. Greg stopped, looking down at his plate.

"Yeah, we really should do that, shouldn't we?"

"You haven't told them yet?" asked Sara.

"No, Greg keeps putting it off, and putting it off," said Nick.

"I just…my parent's aren't gonna be particularly happy."

"About being grandparents?" asked Sara.

"About me being with Nick," said Greg. Nick shook his head.

"Hey, my parents are the catholic ones."

"I didn't know you were Catholic?" said Sara.

"Well, I was raised Catholic, but I'm not really religious," said Nick.

"Look, you're gonna have to tell them someday, it might as well be sooner then later," said Sara.

"Easier said then done, Sar, my parents aren't exactly the most accepting people in the world," said Nick.

"Same here," said Greg. Sara could understand that. She was pretty sure her parents would never have accepted a guy like Grissom for her. Parents weren't known for being accepting.

"Well, just don't leave it too long. Kids need grandparents, and grandparents need grandkids. Now, I'm sure one of Nick's older siblings have had children, but Greg, you're an only child right?"

"Yeah."

"I'm sure your mom wants to be a grandma before she dies."

"You're right, I'll call her later."

"Good. Nick?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll call her."

"Good. I gotta get going, shift starts in a couple hours," said Sara, standing up. She'd been at the guys' house for almost three hours and she had to get ready for work. Nick nodded and showed her to the door. He had to get ready too. Greg yawned, he should go to bed. Greg and Nick had that kind of relationship. Greg slept while Nick worked, Nick slept while Greg was up. Greg took care of Jason while Nick was sleeping, and Nick took care of the baby while he was home. Greg had breakfast waiting when Nick got home and Nick 'brought home the bacon'. Greg sent Nick shopping, and Nick did so with out complaining. They were happy, and everything was going to be alright. They just had to get through telling their parents.

'Tomorrow,' thought Greg as he crawled into bed, 'I'll call them tomorrow.'


	4. Telling my parents

**Disclaimer: Because I so totally own them…not. You know the drill. I own Jason! That is it. **

**A/N: Because you have all waited so patiently for this chapter I have a surprise for you. Not only do you get this wonderful chapter, entitled 'telling our parents', you also get a bonus chapter, called 'Jason's first birthday'. Enjoy! I expect reviews, because reviews make me happy. **

It didn't go so well, at least not for Nick.

"Stokes Residence," said his mom, her soft southern voice was a comfort, and it made him think that it wouldn't be so bad, he was wrong.

"Hey, Mom, it's Nick."

"Oh! Nick, how are you, dear? I haven't heard from you in ages, son. Are you coming out to visit any time soon?"

"Um…probably not, Mom, I'm pretty busy out here in Vegas, and I-"

"Have you found yourself a girl friend yet, Nicky? Oh, you know how I want to see you get married, like your brother! What a nice girl he's got himself now, you should come down and meet her sometime!"

"Mom, I can't. And no, I don't have a girl friend." Greg sat beside Nick and took his hand, trying to be a little comforting.

"It's alright, Nick. You can do this," he said, and Nick smiled.

"Mom, I really didn't want to tell you this by phone, but it's really important, alright?"

"Alright, dear, what is it?"

"Mom, you remember Greg?"

"You're friend? Oh yes! Why? Did something happen to him?"

"No, not really. You see, Mom. Greg and I…we're…um…" he looked to Greg for the much needed support.

"You're what, dear?" asked Mrs. Stokes.

"We're, together," Nick said, and braced himself for the worst.

"Together?" she asked, and Nick nodded even though she couldn't see him.

"Yeah, together. We're going to, that is, we…God. We're a couple, and we've got a family. I want to come down to visit some time, so you can meet Jason."

"Wait, wait! Back up a second. You're with Greg?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Oh, God. Who's Jason than?"

"Jason is…my son."

"What? How do you have a son, if you're with Greg?"

"Jason was left on Greg's doorstep, so we adopted him."

"How long, have you two been…together?"

"About, three months?"

"Nick, I-I-I don't know what to say. You were raised better than this! You can't be with another man!"

"Mom! Please, I love him!"

"Nicholas Stokes! You do not mean that!"

"Yes, Mom, I do! You can't stop this. I really need you to understand, because I don't want Jason to grow up without grandparents. Please, can you put aside your biases and accept that this is what I want, that this makes me happy?"

"Nick, I- Oh, your father wants to talk to you."

"Please, Mom, listen to me."

"Nick?" asked Judge Stokes. Now Nick knew he was in trouble.

"Dad?"

"What's going on, your mother is upset about something."

"I…" Nick took a shaky breath and looked at Greg. Greg squeezed his hand.

"What is it, son?" asked Nick's dad.

"Dad, Mom is upset because I just told her that I'm…with…Greg."

"Greg?"

"Yes, Greg Sanders, one of the guys from work."

"Guys? From work? You're with another man?"

"Yes, Dad. And we're happy together. We have a son together, his name is Jason."

"A son? Together? You've got to be kidding me. Nick you were-"

"Raised better than this, yes I know, Mom told me, but, Dad! I'm happy. And I have the chance to have a family with someone I love and trust. Why can't you guys accept this?"

"Because! No son of mine is-"

"Yes! One of your sons is in love with another man. But one of your sons is also happy, with a family, and a good job and friends who care about him. It doesn't matter what you say, Dad, I'm still going to love Greg."

"And nothing I say will change that?"

"No. The only thing left to decide is if you want to see Jason and if you can accept that."

"I…I don't know, Nick. Good-bye." Nick fought back the tears that threatened to fall, and having Greg beside him was the only thing keeping him together.

"Good-bye, Dad."

Greg wrapped his arms around Nick, holding his lover close. They'd grown close over the years they'd known each other, but the last months before Jason they'd been something a little more, something that hadn't seemed possible, then Jason made it work. And now Nick had Greg, Greg had Nick and they both had Jason, who was now three months old. Nick cried, Greg held him close, letting him cry. Jason was asleep in the other room, and Nick had the night off. This wasn't how Greg had envisioned the night, but it would do, just sitting here, holding Nick. Nick looked up into Greg's eyes and smiled.

"Alright, Greggo, you're turn." Nick handed Greg the phone. Greg took it.

"I think we've had enough tragedy for one night."

"Oh, no. You're not getting away that easy. Call her." Greg took the phone and dialled, switching places with Nick, so instead of doing the comforting, Nick comforted him. He kept Nick close, Nick's arm wrapped around Greg's shoulders, holding him close.

"Hello?" asked Greg's mom, her soft voice echoing over the line.

"Hey, Mom."

"Greg! Oh, how are you, Hun? Long time no see."

"Yeah, too long. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm pretty good. Just hangin' out around the house. But you didn't just call to chat, what's going on?"

"You know me too well, Mom. Look, this is going to be difficult so I need you to listen, alright?"

"Hunny, there ain't nothin' you can say to me that's gonna scare me off or make me hate you."

"I'm not so sure about that. Mom, I," he looked up at Nick, into those loving eyes and he took a deep breath. "Okay, Mom, there is no easy way to say this, so I'm going to just say it. I finally found someone, but- don't go all ecstatic on me, Mom, that someone is Nick."

"Nick? As in, your friend from work Nick?"

"One and the same."

"Oh, Greg! I…I don't know what to say! I'm happy you found someone, but…"

"It's a little weird hearing that that someone is another guy?"

"Just a little, dear. But you're happy, right?"

"Yeah, actually, I am."

"Than I will try and be…hold on a sec." The line was silent for a moment before she came back.

"You alright, Mom?" asked Greg.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, dear. It's not something you hear everyday. I guess I'm just a little sad that I'll never have grandkids, since there's no chance of that is there?"

"Actually, that's the bigger reason I'm calling."

"Bigger then telling me you've fallen in love with Nick?"

"Much bigger. Look, I don't really have time to tell you the whole story, so I'll skip straight to the point. About three months ago, a baby was left on my doorstep."

"And I thought stuff like that only happened in stories."

"Me too. Anyways, Nick and I, we adopted him."

"Adopted him? Oh, Greg! That's wonderful! What's his name?"

"Jason Stokes Sanders."

"Oh, Greg! That's wonderful. Look, I don't know what I think about the whole you Nick thing, but I can't wait to come down and visit. Just don't do anything…weird, okay?"

"Got it, Mom. Wait, coming down?"

"Well, a woman's got to see her grandkids now doesn't she? I could come up this weekend or, how about the one after that?"

"Mom, I was thinking more like, Thanksgiving? Or Christmas?"

"Oh! I can't wait that long! I got a grandkid to dote on. I'll bring-"

"Mom, don't bring anything. We've got lots. So, you're okay with this?"

"Like I said, I'm not really sure. But you're gonna need me around, and I want to be there. I'll be there on Friday, and I'll tell your father."

"Friday? Tell dad? Hold on-"

"Yep, see ya then, dear. Love you!"

"Love you too." Greg hung up the phone.

"That sounded like it went well," said Nick.

"Yeah, surprisingly well."

"So, sounds like she's coming up to visit?"

"Um…yeah, Friday by the sounds of it." Nick pulled Greg a little closer and planted a small kiss on his forehead. Greg rested his head on Nick's shoulder and the two just laid there for a while, listening to the silence, a rare sound as of late.

"Well, at least some of this is a happy ending," said Nick.

"Yeah, I guess it did."


	5. Birthdays and Proposals

**Disclaimer: Don't own 'em, never have, never will. I do however own Jason, because he is the creation of my imagination, not Donahues' or Zuikers' or anyone else's! Take that!**

**A/N: The promised bonus chapter! Read! Enjoy! Review! Because reviews mean I will write more. I hope.**

**A/N: I added my second favourite shipper, GSR (Grissom/Sara for all you non-shippers) I do not think it takes away from the story at all, so don't flame me if you don't like it. **

**SO! At long last, let's begin. **

One year, one long, beautiful, loving and eventful year, had passed since Jason Stokes Sanders became the most important thing in Greg's life. Jason was talking now, single words, like 'Mom', 'Dad', 'Sara', who was a continuous visitor at the Stokes/Sanders residence, 'Gamma', his pet name for Greg's mom, 'Gampa', for Greg's dad, 'Gissom', who had come over every once in a while, 'Cath', as Nick had always called Catherine, 'Rick', as Nick had called Warrick for so long, and a few other things. He talked in small sentences, when he was hungry or tired. He could walk, and run and Greg spent most his day chasing the little boy around the house and the rest trying desperately to figure out what to do when the time came for him to return to work.

"We could hire a nanny," suggested Nick, which earned him a shocked look from Greg.

"A nanny? After all the cases we've worked you want me to trust someone else to take care of my child?" Nick shook his head; that was really the only choice they had.

"One of us could switch to swing shift so that one of us is always home."

"No."

"Now you're just being stubborn."

"Well sorry!"

"Greg we have to do something, you're disability is done in three weeks, so either hire a nanny or I'll hand in my shift request tomorrow."

"Fine, I'll look for a nanny."

"Alright, I'm sure this will be fine."

"You're right." Greg spent the next four days looking for a nanny who had no problem staying over night to take care of the son of two gay men. It was harder then he thought. Finally, he found one. Tina Davidson was a young girl, twenty seven years old, with an impressive résumé and impeccable references. Greg followed up by making Nick run her social security number and fingerprints through every data base known to man before he would call her back.

"She's clean. Not so much as a parking ticket, Greg," said Nick over the line, "and using the lab computer for personal gain is going to get me fired."

"It's not personal gain. Finding a date is personal gain, finding a nanny is not."

"Right, try explaining the difference to Ecklie."

"I only want what's best for Jason."

"Hey! Don't act like I don't care. But if I have no job, we're screwed anyways."

"You're not going to get fired for making sure our nanny has a clean record."

"Ecklie."

"I'll call you back later."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

The night before Greg went back to work, they held a birthday party for Jason, who was officially one year old. Greg made cake and Nick invited everyone over. The brought presents, stakes and stakes of presents, and Jason enjoyed every minute of it. They ate dinner, they had cake and ice cream, and Greg helped Jason open his presents while Nick took a hundred plus pictures.

"Price you pay for being the only child of a Crime Scene Photographer," laughed Nick. Warrick bought Jason a collection of hot wheels, and Jason spent the evening playing with them.

"Rick!" he called from his highchair, making Warrick look over. Jason had a soft mop of feather soft black hair and the brightest emerald green eyes any of them had ever seen.

"Yeah, little man?" asked Warrick. Despite Greg's constant request that everyone call him Jason, Warrick always called him 'little man', Nick figured it was to smite Greg.

"Car!" shouted Jason before throwing one of the Hot Wheels at Warrick, who managed to duck before getting hit with the tiny car.

"I told you that was a bad idea," said Nick, picking the care up off the floor and putting it on the counter.

"No, I just need to learn to duck quicker. Who knew I'd be dodging Hot Wheels at your place?" asked Warrick.

"A year ago? No one would've ever thought this possible," remarked Catherine.

"What?" asked Greg.

"You and Nick, a baby in the midst, flying toy cars, take your pick." Everyone laughed, including Jason.

"I just can't get over how adorable he is," said Sara, taking Grissom's hand. Grissom smiled, even though they'd been together for almost a year themselves, he still loved the closeness.

"You ever thought about having one?" Nick asked her, making her jump a little.

"What? Me? A mother? You're kidding, right?"

"No. I think you'd make a great mom."

"I agree," said Catherine, causing Sara to turn a soft shade of pink.

"Sara!" called Jason. Sara smiled.

"If I had a baby, I hope he'd be like Jason," she said.

"Well, don't get your hopes up," said Catherine. "Jason seems to be the perfect kid, but most the time they're not so good."

"We were definitely blessed on that account," said Nick.

"Gissom!" More laughter, as Grissom smiled at the small boy. Greg loved these times, when everyone was together, laughing and enjoying life. This was what family was, this was what he'd always wanted. Catherine was right, Jason was the perfect kid, and Greg loved him with all his heart. Nick slipped his hand into Greg's, bringing Greg back out of his thought. Greg looked at Nick, and the look Nick gave him made his heart flutter. They'd been holding off for two months now, not sure how to tell their friends, and when Greg nodded, Nick knew tonight was the time. Tapping his spoon against his glass, Nick got everyone's attention.

"Hey, hey! Got an announcement to make here," he said, standing up.

"Dad!" said Jason, tapping his spoon against his highchair. Nick smiled and took the spoon from his son and placed it on the table.

"You can have it back when I'm done. Alright, as you all know, Greg and I have been together for exactly one year now." A round of applause started by Warrick was met by Nick tapping his spoon again. "And now, we think it's time we made it all…legal and official."

"What Nick's trying to say is, we're getting married."

"Congratulations!" It was hard to tell who was saying what, but the support was obvious. Sara and Catherine hugged Greg and Warrick and Grissom congratulated Nick.

"Spoon!" shouted Jason, trying to be heard over the commotion, but just causing more as everyone laughed at his little outburst. Nick handed the spoon back to the boy and returned to his seat, kissing Greg on the cheek as he sat down. This had to be the happiest moment of his life, but a knock at the door drew his attention.

"Who could that be?" asked Greg, standing to get it.

"Don't bother, I'll go," said Nick, moving quickly to the door. He paused a second before grabbing the handle and opening the door. There, standing on the step, was his parents.


	6. Tension

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" asked Judge Stokes. Nick nodded, stepping aside to let his parents in.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"Is everything okay?" asked Greg, coming out of the kitchen and spotting Nick's parents.

"Yeah, Greg, it's fine. Go back to the kitchen."

"Is this your girlfriend?" asked Nick's dad. Nick ground his teeth, looking at his dad.

"No, dad, this is my fiancé." Mrs. Stokes gasped; her hand flew to her mouth and Judge Stokes shook his head.

"Nick-" started his dad.

"It took you almost a year to come out and see me, and for what? So you could judge me and my family?" Nick was trying to keep his cool.

"Nick, listen to me, your mother and I think its best if you come home with us now."

"No! I don't want you trying to ruin my son's birthday!"

"Nicholas! Do not raise your voice to me, and definitely not in front of your mother!"

"Don't come into my home and tell me what to do!"

"Nick," said Mrs. Stokes, reaching out to her son, but her husband stepped in front of her.

"We wanted to talk to you, Nick. We wanted to work this out."

"Work what out, Dad?"

"This mess you've worked yourself into."

"Mess? You think my life is a mess? Because I fell in love with Greg?"

"Yes! Nick, you're a good boy. You should have a wife, and a family, not this."

"This, this works for me." Nick wrapped his arm around Greg, who had not returned to the kitchen when he was told to. "I have a family! I want you to be part of that, but I will simply not walk out on my responsibility, to my friends or my family."

"Nick, it's not that simple," said Mrs. Stokes. "We only want what's best for you and we think that's at home with us."

"Mom, all I ever wanted is right here. I have friends, family, and a man whom I love and who loves me. Is that so wrong?"

"Yes, Nick! For Christ's sake, Son, you had your whole life a head of you, you can't just throw it all away."

"I'm not throwing anything away! I've got everything I need. Mom," Nick let go of Greg and stepped towards his mother. "Do you want to meet Jason?" Nick looked over his shoulder, and found that everyone had assembled in the doorway. Warrick looked ready to break up the fight, should one ensue. Catherine had Jason in her arms and brought him over to Nick. Nick took the boy in his arms, smiling at Catherine.

"Julie-" started Judge Stokes, but she stopped him.

"Quite, I want to meet my grandson." She stepped forward and Nick handed Jason to his mother.

"Hey, Jason, this is Grandma."

"Gamma!" He wrapped his small arms briefly around her neck before sitting back and smiling at her. "Gamma, look wha' Rick got me!" he said, showing her the car.

"Julie, we talked about this. We need to do what's best for Nick, not go getting attached to this boy."

"This boy, is my son!" said Greg, stepping forwards to stand beside Nick again.

"You are not fit to take care of a child."

"We've done fine so far. As for Nick, the two of us are happy. Do you really think kidnapping him is going to change who he is? Or who he loves?"

"Stay out of this."

"No. You can not try and destroy what we've worked so hard for."

"You are destroying my son's life."

"No! You are." Nick put his hand on Greg's shoulder, but Greg was on a roll. "You think you can come into our home, on our son's birthday, and steal Nick away from us? We're happy and nothing you say or do is going to stop that. Sir, you've got two options, accept that Nick and I will always love each other, and be part of our lives and of Jason's. Or leave now and let us live in peace, but don't try and take him away from us, because we love him." The group stood in silence for a moment, tension hung in the room, and for a second Nick thought his dad might actually repent.

"Come on, Julie. Let's go." Judge Stokes turned to leave, and a tear touched Nick's eyes. Julie Stokes looked at her husband and then at the baby in her arms. Could she really leave? Abandon her son and grandson forever? Could she desert her baby because of the man standing between them, or could she put aside the biases she'd been raised by and accept that this was the same boy who'd ridden horseback in Texas all those years ago?

"I…I can't," she finally said. Holding Jason close and stepping towards her baby.

"Julie?"

"I'm sorry, but I won't leave my boy, not like this. Don't you see? They love each other. Their friends accept that, why can't we?"

"I-"

"He is still the same boy we raised, the only thing is that he, like any person, has fallen in love. I can not in my heart justify deserting him even if he is with a man. I will still love him, and you, as his father, should love him too." Behind Nick, Grissom stepped forwards towards the families.

"Judge Stokes, I've known Nick and Greg for a long time, and I've never seen either of them so happy. If you can not honestly put aside your biases for good, then perhaps just today, you can be happy for them too? It is after all, Jason's birthday."

"Dad?"

"Nick, I…" He breathed an exasperated sigh and shook his head. "I suppose that if your mother is so insistent, I will try." Nick smiled.

"Thank you." The two embraced, while Greg led Julie to the kitchen to get her some cake. Nick hurried after them leaving his dad in the doorway, Grissom still standing close by.

"Tell me I made the right decision, Dr. Grissom."

"Your honour, I believe you did."


	7. Kindergarten

_I now pronounce you husband and…husband?_

"Now, I'll drop him off at school, can you pick him up?" asked Greg, packing a Jason's lunch into the black back pack he'd bought three days earlier.

"Greg, we've been over this. I will be there when class gets out at three thirty," said Nick, dropping his jacket on the table.

"Twelve! Twelve thirty, Nick! Okay, I'll pick him up if-"

"I'm kidding, Greggo. I'll pick him up, twelve thirty at the school." Greg looked at Nick and gave an exasperated sigh.

"I'm just really worried about what's going to happen when they find out that Jason has two dads. I mean there are a lot of people who are okay with us, but there are a lot of people who are going to have a problem with this."

"Greg, you gotta stop worrying, it'll be okay." Nick stood behind Greg, massaging his shoulders and kissing his hair.

"You're so certain it'll be okay, but what if it isn't? What if everything goes horribly wrong and we destroy our son's life?"

"We're not going to destroy his life, are we Jason?" Nick knelt down to be at Jason's eye level. The little boy smiled and shook his head.

"Nope!" said Jason. Jason was four years old now and ready for his first day of kindergarten.

"Alright, see? We're gonna be fine, Greg. Jason, you be good in class today, okay?"

"Okay, Daddy." Jason threw his arms around Nick's neck and Nick hugged his son.

"Alright, Jason, let's go," said Greg, taking Jason's hand. "Time to go to school."

"Yay!" Jason grabbed his back pack and ran towards the door. Nick gave Greg a hug.

"I'm gonna go to bed, I'll see you when you get back?" asked Nick.

"Of course," said Greg, giving Nick a quick kiss before following Jason to the car.

"Morning, Mr. Sanders, how can I help you today?" asked Mrs. Fielding, a middle aged woman with shoulder length black hair.

"I just wanted to make sure there wasn't going to be any problems today," said Greg.

"With Jason being in class today? Why would there be?"

"There's…special circumstances and I don't want him to get hurt."

"What circumstances would that be?"

"Jason is adopted, but that's not the only thing. Um…"

"Mr. Sanders, when you came in to enrol Jason you put down a Mr. Nick Stokes as a second contact. We thought he was a close friend, but can I assume that it's a little more then that?" Greg smiled, he still hadn't gotten used to telling people about him and Nick, even after four years.

"Yeah, Nick and I are married, even though we don't share a last name, and I don't want that to have any affect on how Jason is treated."

"I understand Mr. Sanders. I'll talk to Jason's teacher today and I look forward to meeting Mr. Stokes after class today."

"I'll make sure he's here. Thank you, Mrs. Fielding."

"You're welcome."

"What'd you tell them?" asked Nick.

"The truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth," said Greg, sitting on the bed next to Nick.

"And how'd they take it?"

"Pretty good. I'm still worried about Jason, but I think it's going to be okay."

"I told you it would be okay. Jason's a tough kid and he's going to be fine. Now, I'll pick him up after class, talk to the principle and then we can all go out for lunch to celebrate."

"Sounds good." Greg snuggled up next to Nick and closed his eyes, the long night finally catching up with him. He finally drifted off to sleep.

Three hours later, they woke up to the buzz of the alarm. Nick rolled over and hit the clock, staring at the glowing red numbers for a minute.

"You going?" asked Greg.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm going." Nick got out of bed and got ready, pouring himself a coffee before heading out the door. When he got to Jason's school he walked through the front doors to the principles office and knocked on the door.

"Come on in."

"Mrs. Fielding?" he asked as he entered the office.

"Ah, you must be Mr. Stokes, please take a seat." Nick sat down in the high back wooden chair across from Mrs. Fielding.

"How'd the day go?" he asked. Mrs. Fielding smiled.

"As far as I know, very good. I spoke to his teacher this morning, and she understands. He didn't seem to have any problems and when I stopped by an hour ago they all seemed fine. Did you want to go down and see him? Class will be getting out soon and I'm sure you'd like to meet his teacher."

"That'd be great, thank you." They walked down the long halls, covered in colourful posters and children's art work. They reached the classroom, and Mrs. Fielding opened the door.

"Ms. Meyers? Am I interrupting anything?"

"No, not at all. Give me one second though, okay?"

"Of course."

"Alright, kids. The bell's going to ring right away, so everyone get your coats and line up at the door. Mrs. Fielding and I are going to be talking, so nobody leave early." Nick watched from the doorway as two dozen four and five year olds got their coats and crowded around the door; giggling and goofing off. Nick followed Mrs. Fielding into the class, and Jason saw him.

"Daddy!" he called, leaping into Nick's arms.

"Hey there, Jason! How was your day?"

"Good, we read stories and painted and had a assembly."

"Sounds like fun. Hey, you stand with the other kids; Daddy's gotta talk to your teacher. 'Kay?"

"'Kay." Nick put Jason down and walked over to Ms. Meyers

"You must be Jason's father," she said. She was young, probably in her early thirties, with long blond hair that reached the middle of her back.

"Nick Stokes," he said, extending his hand.

"Kim Meyers," she said, shaking it.

"Mr. Stokes just wanted to know how Jason was today," explained Mrs. Fielding.

"He was very good. He's a smart little boy and he got along great with everyone. He's very bright for his age, Mr. Stokes, you should be very proud."

"I am. He takes after Greg, so I'm not surprised he's so social. Even if he's adopted, he still learned a lot from Greg."

"Greg Sanders is Jason's other father right?"

"Yes," confirmed Nick.

"And you're his…"

"Father. Greg is like a surrogate mother, and I'm his dad. Jason is adopted and Greg and I are together. That's why we're both so concerned about how he is in class. He's a great kid at home, but we're worried about how other people will take the situation."

"Well, I have no problem with it, but I suggest you keep this as low as possible. No offence, but there are a lot of people who would have a problem with it."

"I understand. I just want to be open about it with you, so you know what's going on at home for him. If you ever need anything, don't be afraid to call us, we work nights, so we're home during the day."

"Who takes care of Jason while you're at work?"

"We have a live in nanny, Tina Davidson, who will probably pick Jason up most days after class. Is there anything else you need to know?"

"I don't think so."

"Well then, I guess I'll see you around." They shook hands again as the bell rang and the kids streamed into the hall, except Jason who ran up to Nick again.

"Alright, kiddo, let's get outta here. What'd ya say? Shall we go get mom and get some lunch?"

"Yeah! Can we have pancakes?"

"Pancakes? Well I don't know, we'll have to check with mom first, won't we?"

"Please, Dad?"

"Oh, alright. Let's go."

"Yay!"


	8. turning 6

**Disclaimer: still not mine...though a few random characters and Jason obviously are. **

**A/N: this is really quickly done and unBETAed, not that I actually have a beta. But I owe you another cheesey and cute chapter about our boys. So, Jason's birthday and Greg's stress.

* * *

**

"Oh my god this is way too stressful!" Greg tossed a pen across the table at Nick, who watched it slide of the edge and onto the floor.

"Greg, you gotta calm down. Cases get tough, but no need to blow up and toss innocent pens at tired husbands," laughed Nick, picking up the pen.

"God, it's not even a case that's bothering me. It's Jason's birthday party." Nick couldn't help but laugh and shake his head. Greg had been planning Jason's sixth birthday party for months now, and always worrying about everything that could potentially 'ruin their son's life'.

"You are freaking out for nothing. All his friends have been over before, their parents know about us, and about the 'home situation' so what's the big deal?"

"It's his first big birthday party! I want to make it perfect."

"You are stressing out over nothing. Greg, you need to calm way down and think rationally."

"I am completely rational."

"Throwing pens is not rational."

"I can throw whatever I want."

"Are we arguing?" asked Nick, reaching out and placing his hand on top of Greg's, which was resting on the desk. Greg shook his head.

"No, we're not. We're going to get through this, and I'm going to talk to Catherine about how to throw a good birthday party."

"There we go, now you're talking rationally."

"Screw rationality." Both men laughed, and Greg headed off to find Catherine.

* * *

"It's not that difficult when they're that young, Greg. Make sure there is cake, ice cream, goodie bags and set them loose in the back yard with super soakers and water balloons. Take advantage of the good weather and a little boy's natural ability to make trouble. You'll be fine," said Catherine. She was filing some of Grissom's paperwork, as their boss was avoiding it like the plague again.

"Cake, ice cream, goodie bags, super soakers and water balloons. Got it. I think I can do this." Catherine laughed and shook her head.

"I know you can, Greg. Birthdays are fairly easy, but you just have to watch them, all the time, or they will destroy stuff. Never under estimate how much trouble a kid can get into."

"I know that much. Thank you, Catherine. I was stressing out, and Nick wasn't helping."

"Another thing, husbands are probably the least reliable people in the world. Be the woman, Greggo." Greg laughed.

"I'll keep that in mind. God, I never thought those words would be comforting instead of offensive."

"Things change. Good luck."

_

* * *

We're having a PARTY!_

_For who? Jason Stokes-Sanders_

_When: April 29__th__ at 12:00 pm_

_Where: The Stokes-Sanders household _

_RSVP as soon as possible. Talk to Greg, 765-9090_

_Be prepared for swimming, water fights and birthday fun!_

* * *

The invites went out at the beginning of April and by the end of the week six people had returned the invite. Greg was probably more excited then Jason was when the day finally rolled around.

Greg let the kids in and Jason took them to his room, while Greg asked the mom's into the living room.

"You must be so proud of him, adjusting so well to school and everything," said one of the mom's, Kathy Peach. Greg smiled and nodded.

"He's a good kid, I'm just happy that he's getting along so well with the other kids."

"Were you worried about throwing this party?" asked Candice O'Claire, a single mother from down the street.

"Oh yeah. I was panicking, and stressed out beyond belief. Nick thought it was incredibly funny."

"Where is Nick today?" asked Kathy.

"Yeah, I haven't seen him in a while. Is he working still?" asked Leanne Grace, another of the mothers that had been helping Greg out while Nick worked doubles on a serial case.

"He's working. He's been working doubles for a while. It's a big case and Grissom wants it solved now."

"It's okay, darling. That's what we moms are for. We fill in when the husbands are out," said Kathy, putting her hand on Greg's shoulder.

"I don't suppose we get any of that lovely birthday cake for our trouble?" asked Sandra.

"Of course! If you want to stick around, you get cake, ice cream, what ever you want."

"Who ever thought we'd be having girl talk with a guy?" asked Daniel.

"And Greg of all guys," added Lacy, the woman from next door that had always been so great for Greg since the beginning.

The woman and Greg laughed. Mother talk, girl talk, chit chat and gossip was one of the many things Greg had learned to love about being Jason's mother. He was proud of how well his son was getting along with the other kids, and in school. He felt a little sheepish about being so worried.

"Well, we should go, we'll swing by around four to pick the boys up? You can treat us to sweets later, 'kay?" suggested Daniel.

"Sounds wonderful. I'll talk to you later."

"Call if you need anything," added Lacy.

"I will. Trust me, I will." More laughter as the ladies left, and Greg was alone with the boys.

* * *

"Alright, Jason! Shall we go outside? Lunch time boys!" Greg went and lit the barbeque as the boys raced out to the yard to play with the water guns and hose and stuff. Greg was making hot dogs, and praying he'd make it through.

At four o'clock the mothers returned to find seven soaking young boys sprawled across the front yard eating cake and rummaging through goodie bags full of treats.

"Load them up on sugar and send them home?" asked Lacy.

"That was the plan. Is it okay?" asked Greg.

"It's fine," said Kathy.

"Cake or ice cream for anyone?"

* * *

"You did a good job today, from what I can tell, and from Jason told me," said Nick that night. They were lying on the couch just before Greg had to go to work.

"It went well if I do say so myself. How about the case?"

"Closed. It's about time too, I miss sleeping, and hanging out with my son, and you."

"That's sweet. Unfortunately I have to go soon."

"We're alright, aren't we, Greg?"

"What do you mean?" Greg stood up and started to change into his work cloths.

"We aren't fighting, or falling apart or anything, are we?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because we hardly talk anymore, we never get to see each other because we're both working so much, and I'm just worried that we're not going to make it."

"Only if we think like that. Nick, we'll be fine. I've got to go, but I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright. Night." They kissed quickly and Greg jogged out of the house to the car. Nick's words worried him. But why would they? Because they were so out of character, or

because he wondered if they would be a prophecy for trouble in the future? He shook his head to clear it, and drove off. No need to dwell on that.

* * *

A/N: Well? Too cheesey? I have more to work with now, but I thought I'd give you something a bit more upbeat first.


	9. Fights

**a/n:** this is where I try and set a general time line. I'm pegging this about 2010. Even though I'll make no guesses at where society or technology will be at this point in time. Also, based on last weeks episode of CSI (spoilers) Sara will no longer be at the lab, though she is still with Grissom (as per the show) 

And thank you to my Beta **lostladyknight **for reading this over for me.

"Alright, I made his appointment for five o'clock, so one of us should be home by then. Is that all right?" asked Nick, he'd just hung up with the dentist. Jason was going in to get a couple of painful cavities filled. 

It should've been so simple, it had been for six years, but both of them were working a lot more, trying to make ends meet and Nick's double homicide had turned into a serial killer.

Grissom was on their case about prioritizing, but Greg had stood firm on the fact that their son was his top priority. Grissom sympathised but his mind was on catching the killer.

"Yeah, that works. I'll tell Catherine where I'm going; she'll understand. Even if Grissom doesn't," said Greg without looking up from the file he was reading.

The guys were at work, pouring over cases of evidence, and files full of pictures. It was one in the afternoon and besides a quick trip home to take Jason to school and see the babysitter, Tina, off at the airport, both of them had been there since nine the night before.

An hour later Catherine stepped into the room. She looked tired and old. She'd aged a lot in the last few years; her shoulder length blond hair touched with soft amounts of grey and white and the lines on her face were deeper. Grissom was on the verge of finally retiring, and enjoying the time he would finally have. The plan was that Catherine would take over as supervisor. She knocked on the door frame to get Nick and Greg's attention. They looked up quickly and Greg gave her a warm smile.

"What's up, Cath?" asked Nick and she shook her head.

"Bodies on the strip, I need you two down there to process." Greg did the mental time line of processing, analysing and travel and realized that neither of them would be able to get home by five to get Jason to the dentist at six.

"Catherine, I have to get Jason to a dentist appointment at six, so I need-" started Greg, but Catherine held up a hand.

"Look, Greg, as much as I sympathise, I need you both out there, right now."

"What about Warrick? Or Ronnie?" asked Greg, grasping for someone to cover for him.

"Ronnie is already there, and Warrick is still running through four days with of security footage for the last scene. Please, Greg, just do your job."

"Catherine, I have son who needs to go to the dentist."

"Greg…just chill out, and we'll figure it out later," said Nick.

"Thank you, Nick. I'll check in with you guys later."

"Where are you going?" asked Greg, as she started to leave.

"Grissom and I are going over the old scenes to see if we missed anything. We probably won't be back until late." She left without another word.

Nick stood to gather his things, but Greg grabbed his arm. "What was that about?" snapped the younger man, an uncharacteristic harshness to his voice.

"What was what about?" asked Nick.

"You could've stood up for me back there. Correction, you should've stood up for me back there."

"Greg, there is no use arguing with Catherine when she's set in her ways."

"But if we'd both talked to her then we might've been able to work something out."

"Or we might've gotten in serious trouble for it."

"What are you, a rookie? Worried about losing your job more than taking care of your son?"

"Hey, don't be like that. Don't act like you care more about Jason than I do."

"Well put me straight, Nick. Why didn't you stand up to her and say that she should understand what we're going through?"

"Because she's the boss."

"And you're going to be her assistant supervisor if all things go right."

"So what?"

"So grow a spine, Nick!"

"Don't talk to me like that. You and I both know that arguing with Catherine is not going to solve anything."

"You're using her seniority as a shield to your God damn cowardice!" Nick pulled his arm out of Greg's grip.

"You think this is easy for me? You think I like working twenty hours a day and never getting to see our son? You think that I want to be here instead of at home with him, or picking him up from school? You think that you're the only one who wants this family to work?"

"Nick…"

"Greg, I am trying here, but I can't do that if you're going to spend all you time yelling at me about how I'm not pulling my weight."

"Nick-"

"Don't act like you know everything, or like you're the only one who's trying here. I will figure something out, so stop acting like the world is ending every time something doesn't go exactly your way."

"Nick!"

"What?"

"I'm sorry."

"Of course you are. I'll see you in the car." Nick stormed out of the room, leaving a stunned Greg at the table.

Greg felt tears sting his eyes, but he refused to let them fall; refused to show just how hurt he was by the bitterness and spite of Nick's words. He and Nick had spent very little time together as of late. Between taking care of Jason, the extra hours for Nick and Greg's personal case load, they'd been very distant lately. The closeness they'd once shared had become a strange rift. Greg didn't want to consider that they might be falling apart.

He slowly lifted himself to his feet and left the lab; keeping determination painted on his face and his anger and sadness safely hidden behind his brown eyes. When he saw Nick he chose not to say anything. He did not want another fight, and he didn't want to risk an argument in front of everyone. So he held his tongue and never met his husband's gaze. The tension was so thick it was suffocating.

"So how do you want to do this?" asked Nick. They'd been on the road for ten minutes and neither had said a word prior.

"Do what?"

"Get Jason to his appointment?"

"I…don't know."

"I can cover for you if you want to go pick him up from Lacy's and take him down there, but you have to be quick."

"I don't know how long this appoint will take. I can't just 'be quick'."

"Well what do you want to do?"

"I don't know!" Anger crept into his voice and his façade of calm faltered.

"Then don't debate my idea if you don't have one of your own. Leave the lab at five, get to the dentist, get back."

The tension choked all the words that Greg longed to say. He didn't want to fight, he didn't want to argue, he didn't want to push Nick any farther then he already had. He bit his tongue again and turned away. He felt like a sulky teenager instead of the grown man he was.

Nick knew something was seriously wrong in their relationship. He didn't want to bring it up, but the fights had gotten worse and the distance was getting dangerously wide. They were not the small fights about Jason's birthday; they were fights about money, their relationship, and work. This was the first time an argument had broken out at work; luckily in private, but still. Nick couldn't help but think it was only a matter of time before the problems couldn't be covered up by one of Greg's beautiful smiles and his insistence that everything was okay.

Catherine had been there, she would see what was happening. And he couldn't bear to think what would happen to Jason if they became another pair of arguing parents. This was already going to be difficult for him to deal with.

When the reached the scene Nick turned off the car and put a hand on Greg's shoulder. Greg looked at Nick, but could not force a smile.

"I'm sorry," said Nick quietly.

"Me too," whispered Greg back.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again to lostladyknight for BETAing for me. R&R.


	10. giving up

A/N: and the sadness must begin

**Disclaimer: Still don't own.**

**A/N: and the sadness must begin. Sorry this took so long, lots of homework and a few other things that I'm working on. And thank you to ****LostLadyKnight for betaing again. **

Greg sat on the edge of his bed; the bed he'd shared with his lover for seven years now. Tears ran down his face as he watched Nick packed the rest of his belongings throwing clothing into a suitcase and fighting to fit it all into just one.

The silence was deafening.

"Why?" asked Greg, his voice quiet. It was late and Jason was sleeping across the hall. Nick looked over at him, his own face a reflection of sadness and regret. This wasn't what he had wanted it to be, but it was what seemed right.

"Because right now this isn't working. We're falling apart and I don't want it to get worse." Greg shook his head.

"Please, we can make this work. I want it to work," he was almost begging.

"So do I; but I can't stand our fighting, the fact that we argue about everything. I don't want to put Jason through that."

"And this is so much better?" asked Greg, raising his voice a little. The tension that preceded their all too common fights was there and Nick shook his head, trying to stay calm.

"This is exactly what I mean. I can hardly talk to you anymore without you yelling at me, and judging everything I say. You can't talk to me without getting angry. Seeing us apart is better for Jason then hearing us argue." Nick's voice grew louder to match Greg's.

"So you'd rather tear the family apart than work it out? You'd rather let us fall apart than make any sort of effort? That's just selfish, Nick." More anger came with the accusation, and the quiet sadness faded from Greg's voice.

"Don't blame this on me! You're the one who isn't trying. All you can do is yell at me, and I'm sick and tired of it!"

"So this is my fault?"

"Yes! I promised I would help you through this, that I would be there until the end, but I can't live like this!"

"Like what?"

"Like this! For two years we've done nothing but argue. You question everything I do, yell at me about everything. You aren't the man I fell in love with anymore."

"What the hell does that mean?"

"The Greg I knew was kind, fun loving, outgoing. The man you've become is so angry and stressed out; but only around me. Come on, Greg, what happened to us?"

"I don't know." There was a long tense pause as they both stood in the small room, facing each other. "I just don't know."

"Me neither. Look, I've got to go," said Nick, slamming the top of his suitcase closed.

"So you're just going to walk out on me; on us?" Greg's voice was sad and lost, as though he had admitted defeat.

"I'm sorry, but yes, I am." Nick's voice became quiet as well. There was a pause, broken by a sound from the door.

"Why were you yelling, Dad?" asked a small voice. Both men turned to see their son standing in the doorway. The young boy was now eight years old, with spiky black hair that never seemed to stay down.

"Jason, I'm sorry," said Nick, walking over to his son.

"Where are you going, Dad?" asked Jason as Nick scooped him up into his arms.

"I have to leave for a while."

"Why?" asked Jason.

"Because…I just have to."

"Are you going on a trip? Back to Texas to see Gramma and Grampa? Can I come with?"

"No. I'll still be here, but I won't be living here with you guys. And no, I need you to stay with Daddy-Greg."

"Dad is moving out, Jason. He's leaving us," said Greg, dropping back onto the bed.

"Don't you love Daddy-Greg?" Jason had taken to calling Greg 'Daddy-Greg' instead of mom. It had seemed right as the boy was growing up and had begun to understand the relationship his fathers had.

"Of course I do, it's just-"

"Than stay!" said the boy happily, as though that solved everything. "I don't want you to leave." Nick shook his head and placed Jason on the bed beside Greg.

"I can't. I have to go."

"But why?" asked Jason, his smile turning into a sad pout.

"Because…Greg and I…we're fighting."

"Then you need a time out." Nick smiled sadly.

"That's what it is. I'm taking a time out."

"Then you'll come back?"

"I don't know, Jason."

"Don't go. If you're not going to come back, I don't want you to go." Jason started to cry, reaching out to wrap his arms around Nick's neck and hold his father close.

"I don't want him to go either, Jason. But we'll be okay," said Greg, pulling Jason back and into his arms.

Nick whipped the tears from Jason's eyes as he turned to leave. He looked at Greg. Greg was looking down, not meeting Nick's gaze. Nick stepped towards his lover, and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Greggo. I love you, you know I do, but I have to go." Greg looked up, eyes moist, and face glistening with tears.

"Please," he whispered, "don't leave us." Nick kissed Greg's forehead, and turned away. He grabbed his suitcase off the bed and walked out the door towards his truck.

Greg listened as Nick's door was slammed shut. There was a moment of silence before the engine roared to life, and the truck sped away down the street.

"Alright, Jason. It's just you and me now. We're going to get through this," said Greg. Jason looked up at him, eyes full of tears, and shook his head.

"Will Dad come back?" he asked. Greg shook his head and picked his son up.

"I don't know. I hope he does, but I just don't know."

"I miss him."

"Me too. Now, back to bed with you. Let's go." Greg carried Jason down the hall and put him in the bed. He pulled the Spiderman blankets up around Jason and sat down beside his son.

"I'll take you to school in the morning, and pick you up, and then we can get some ice cream. Okay?"

"Daddy, ice cream won't make him come back." Greg nodded, tears stinging his eyes again. Jason was too smart to just let all this go and have something as big as Nick leaving covered up by ice cream.

"I know; but it will make me feel better. How about you?" Jason thought about it and then nodded. He reached out a small hand and put it on Greg's face.

"Don't cry, Daddy-Greg. It'll be okay."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too. We'll be okay."

"I hope so. I really hope so."

**a/n: and I hope to have new stuff up soon. Please R&R.**


	11. Working Together

**A/N: **Oh my God, I am so sorry it's taken so long to get this up. Really I am! I didn't realize it was that long. So short run down of why...High school graduation, starting University, freaking out at university (seriously, I started work on this chapter no less than six times in the last 8 months), final exams, family trouble, and major writers block. But here it is! I hope it's worth the wait. Now that I have some time off, I should be able to start updating regularily. Please enjoy. Also, this chapter has had one small change. I realize that I said Jason was six in this chapter and eight in the previous. f

**Disclaimer:** I have never, and will never own CSI. This took a major branch away from everything that was happening in the show so if it doesn't mesh up with characters leaving/dying/being replaced, that's just too damn bad. Although it might match back up eventually.

* * *

Nick stared around the empty apartment he was officially renting. He'd spent a week in a hotel off the strip and finally made arrangements to move into a new place. It was dark, and it was lonely.

He missed Greg.

No. He shook his head sadly. He didn't miss Greg so much as he missed the way Greg used to be. Before. When things had been good.

He missed Jason.

He felt his heart break a little. He really did miss the little boy. His life had a distinctly darker feel to it since he'd left and it could all be explained by the absense of his son.

Of their son.

He sat down on the couch, furniture that came with the apartment, tried to fight off the wave of grief. He focused on his reasons. The never ending arguements about everything from money to cases to the last big one. Greg had changed so much.

"Yeah," he said to the empty room, "but so have you."

He ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep breath. He hauled his suitcase into the bedroom and started to unpack.

The silence was deafening. He couldn't remember the last time, before the day he moved out, that there had been anything less than the dull roar that accompanied a eight year old boy around the house. In his mind he could hear Jason laughing loudly at cartoons, or making car noises as he raced his Hot Wheels around the kitchen while Nick tried to make dinner.

He could hear the silly noises from the TV as Jason flicked through the hundreds of kids channels you could get with Satellite, enjoying each one for about twenty seconds before switching it again. He listened as Tim McGraw's "Indian Outlaw" played through the speakers in Jason's room over and over again, because Jason would only fall asleep to that song.

Years had passed with the volume always up in his life. Only at work was there anything that resembled silence, and then usually he and Greg could be caught humming the same song, Indian Outlaw, under their breaths because it was eternally stuck in their head.

Nick grabbed his laptop and set it up, opening his iTunes and turning the song on. The opening bars faded into Tim McGraw's voice and Nick closed his eyes and lay down, imagining his son was just down the hall again. He could almost feel Greg lay down next to him and snuggle in close. He could feel Greg's warm breath on his neck and a small kiss on his lips as they simply lay together before going to work.

His cell phone rang and he reached over to grab it, turning down the music, and answering quickly.

"Stokes."

"Nick." It was Catherine. "We need you to come in early today and start work on a 4-19 at the Grand."

"Sure thing. I'll meet you down there."

"Thanks."

The line went to dead and Nick headed for the door, pausing only to grab a coat and turn off the computer.

***

At the Grand he was directed up the elevator to the sixth floor and down the hall to room 626. Brass opened the door and he saw that Catherine was not there.

Greg was.

He stopped, flinching as through he'd been hit and turned away.

Greg was not facing the door and hadn't seen him, and Nick had been smart enough to check who was in the room before announcing his presence.

He looked at Brass.

"Damn it, why didn't Cath tell me Greg was gonna be here?" he asked.

"Don't ask me. Ask her."

"Hi, Nick," said Catherine, appearing next to him. Nick gave her a look and shook his head.

"Hey."

"Sorry, but you two still work together and today you're working together. Get in there and do your job."

"You know as well as I do that it's not that simple."

"You don't have to make small talk. Just solve this case. Look, what happens in your life, on your own time, is your problem. Tonight you're just going to have to swallow your pride and play nice."

"Call someone else."

"No. You're already here."

"Fine." Nick grabbed his case and walked into the room without saying anything. This time Greg was looking at him. His eyes had no accusations, or anger. Just sadness and pain. It hurt him to know that Nick didn't want to work together anymore.

"Hey," said Greg. Nick looked at him, and they stopped, eyes locked, without saying anything else.

Nick shook his head.

"Hey."

Catherine walked in pointed to the place Greg had been kneeling before. She started to rattle off details about the case, and Nick tried to pay attention, but he couldn't focus on anything but Greg at the moment.

It was going to be a long night.

***

A week passed in a blur, as Catherine, Nick and Greg worked on their case. Suspects came and went and evidence was pieced together. Catherine fought off migranes as Nick and Greg either ignored each other completely or bickered like children.

When the case was solved and Brass and the LVPD were escorting their murderer away in cuffs she sighed in relief. Then called each of them to her office.

Nick arrived first and dropped into one of the seats in her little office.

"What's goin' on, Cath?" he asked. He was feeling pretty good, even though the solving of a case meant that he would be spending tonight alone in his apartment with nothing to think about but his own problems.

"I wanted to talk to you. Both of you," she said. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail, but she let it out because the elastic was hurting her already throbbing head.

"Both?" asked Nick, turning around as the door opened and Greg walked in.

"You wanted to..." started Greg, trailing off when he saw Nick.

"Sit," said Catherine, pointing to the seat beside Nick.

"I'll stand," stated Greg.

"No. You'll sit." And Greg did as he was ordered. The men pushed against their seats, sitting as far away from each other as possible and almost staring each other down.

"Okay. I've had enough of this bullshit," said Catherine. The irritation in her voice caused Nick and Gregg to look at her.

There was a second of silence before Catherine moved from behind her desk towards the door.

"You two are going to talk," she said, closing the door. "And if you want, I'll mediate, but you're going to work out whatever is going on, or one of you will be working days or packing your bags."

"Nick's pretty good at that part," spat Greg. Nick went to retaliate, but Catherine cut him off.

"Enough! You're both grown men and you have a child to think about. You're going to talk this out like responsible, mature adults without name calling, insults or shouting. Am I clear?" she paused and waited, but they were back to staring each other down. "Clear?" she repeated and they both nodded. Catherine locked the door and closed the blinds on the windows before returning to he seat behind her desk.

"Greg, you start."

Greg took a deep breath, looked at the floor and thought for a long moment. When he looked up there was no anger in his eyes anymore.

"Why'd you leave?" he asked. Nick felt his heart drop into his stomach.

"You changed. I told you that."

"What do you mean though?"

This time Nick looked away, sorting his thoughts, and taking a long breath.

"When I met you, Greg, you were this care free, easy going, fun guy. When we got married you were this crazy, motherly but still cool, guy. The last couple years you got more and more stressed. Every time something was a little off you got pissed off. You changed. I couldn't stand fighting with you anymore."

"So this is my fault?" Greg snapped.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about! You get all defensive if someone even remotely suggests that you're not perfect. Greg, you get all worked up over stupid little things instead of letting me help you work them out."

"You never tried!"

"Excuse me?"

"Alright," said Catherine. "Calm down. Both of you take a deep breath and get back on track."

"I was trying, Greg, but the more you pushed me away, the less I knew what you wanted and the less I could get involved."

"I...pushed you away?"

"You didn't want my help. You were always telling me that you could handled it and you didn't need my input. It started to feel like you didn't need me."

"But...I did."

"You didn't act like it. Whenever I tried to do something, you'd get pissed off 'cause I wasn't doing it your way."

"I..." Greg was feeling deflated as he realized that he had done all of that. How many times he'd pushed Nick away when he was trying to help. How he'd slowly made it impossible for Nick to even try.

"Look," said Nick, "I realized that I might have been an ass about the whole thing. I must have made it hard sometimes too."

"Greg?" asked Catherine. Greg was staring at the floor, and when he looked up he smiled a little half smile that had some level of happiness in it. It was contagious and Nick smiled too.

"That's a good start," said Catherine. "What are you thinking, Greg?"

"I didn't realize I was being such an ass. I'm sorry about everything. I'm willing to try and change. No, I'm willing to do whatever it takes to change. Can we give it another shot?" Nick smiled.

"Well, my apartment's pretty lonely without you and Jason to keep me company."

"Is that a yes?"

"Yeah. I'll give you another shot."

"Yes!" Greg nearly jumped to his feet. Nick stood up and wrapped his arms around Greg, smiling with tears forming in his eyes. He wanted so bad to make it work.

"If you two are going to start making out, I'm leaving," said Catherine.

Greg laughed and pulled away from Nick.

"I think we can wait til we get home," he said. Nick nodded.

"Home...that sounds pretty good to me."

* * *

**A/N: **So, worth it? Yes? No? I'll try to do better/more in the coming weeks. I have an idea for the next chapter, and we're gonna jump ahead a little.

Face it, Nick and Greg just can't not be together. They never really wanted it that way. And Catherine is an awesome mediator.


	12. I hate you

**A/N:So this is a chapter I was not entirely sure about. I hope you enjoy it though. Greg and Jason have to deal with a lot, like students who just don't get it. This is in no way a jab at those of religious back ground. I am a christian (shocking, yes?) and I would obviously never imply that someone who was gay, or was the child of a gay person, was going to hell. **

This was fun though, because Jason hasn't even become a teenager and he's already being moody.

**Disclaimer: **last I checked, I still own nothing but Jason and any other names you don't recognize.

* * *

Greg was starting to panic again. At ten years old, Jason was fast approaching that age where he was going to realized that having two fathers in the situation they were in was not normal. He had so far determined three possible outcomes for this.

First, Jason could decided that it was entirely okay, and responsibly tell any of his friends who teased him for it, that it was not bad to have two fathers like he did.

Two, he would again accept that it was okay, but this time resort to violence and acting out in response to possible teasing or questions.

Or three, which Greg sadly figured was the most likely, he would start to resent his parents for their lifestyle and having dragged him into this without his consent.

Greg began to worry that he would lose his little boy and all the love and respect. They had already gone over the idea that Jason was adopted, and when he was eight Greg had told him the story of how he happened to come into their lives. Jason had been upset by it, but having known nothing else, he got over it after a while.

Greg had insisted that they take him to see a psychologist, and Nick had insisted that it wasn't necessary. They both agreed to wait and see.

Jason was starting to attend a middle school, which included kids from grades five through nine, and was getting used to explaining to teachers and fellow students that he had two fathers. No, his parents were not divorced and his mother remarried, he actually had two fathers living together. Yes, he supposed that that meant they were married to each other, they both wore wedding bands. And yes, he figured they were gay, but that was fine because that was all he knew.

He had dealt with teasing from some students, and teachers and administrators had always dealt with the bullies accordingly. But two weeks into September, Greg still waited anxiously for Jason to return home angry with him and Nick for ruining his life.

Today was that day.

Jason had wrote a short essay about his summer. He had called it "My Dads and I" and it had detailed their trip to Disneyland for a week. He talked about how his Daddy-Greg and Dad had taken him on all the rides, to shows and how they'd stayed in a big hotel. He had read it in front of the class and then asked if there were any questions. It had not gone well after that.

"What happened to your mom?" asked one little girl. Jason had looked at the floor for a second.

"I don't have a mom," he'd said.

"Why not?" asked another boy.

"I was adopted. My mother, or someone, left me in the care of Daddy-Greg and my Dad, Nick."

"Your dad's are gay?" asked another boy. Jason shifted a little and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Now, that's enough," said the teacher, Mr. Hail, but the class was already whispering and laughing.

"Yeah, I get it. My Dads are gay. I've heard it all before. Grow up, why dontcha!" shouted Jason.

"Jason. I have to ask you to sit down now," said Mr. Hail.

"Why? They're the ones being stupid."

"Don't talk like that."

"Tell them not to make fun of my family!"

"Jason. We'll talk about this after class. Now return to your seat."

"Fine." Jason stomped to his seat and the girl sitting beside him shot him a dirty look.

"Fag," she whispered.

"Am not!" Jason shouted.

"Jason, what's going on?" asked Mr. Hail.

"Jessie called me a fag."

"Did not!"

"Did so!"

"Enough! Everyone in this class should be respectful of Jason's home situation. Just as you would if his parents were divorced or remarried. Just because he has two fathers is no reason to insult him, or call him names."

"But it's a sin!" said Jessie, the girl sitting beside Jason.

"And if this were a Catholic school, we would deal with it as such. But this is a class where all differences, including race and sexual orientation are accepted."

"I don't want to sit by him anymore."

"Jason, would you mind moving to the front of the class?" asked Mr. Hail. Jason shot Jessie his own dirty look.

"Fine."

***

"How was school today?" asked Greg. Jason slammed the door and stormed towards his room.

"Jason?" asked Nick. "Greg asked you a question. How was school?"

Jason appeared in the kitchen where his fathers were enjoying a coffee, having both gotten home only hours early from a double shift at the lab.

"School sucked," said Jason.

"What happened?" asked Greg putting down his coffee and standing to move towards his son.

"I hate you both!" shouted the boy before running to his room and slamming the door.

Greg looked at Nick.

"Want to handle it? Or should I?" Greg asked. Nick nodded.

"He's all yours. I'll talk to him later."

Greg knocked lightly on the door to Jason's room.

"Stay out!" Greg shook his head and knocked again.

"Jason. Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"I don't want to talk!"

"I know. Can I come in anyways?"

"No!"

"Would you prefer to talk to Nick?"

"No! I hate you both!"

"Okay, but we're going to talk anyways. So would you rather Nick or me?"

There was a long pause on the other side of the door and Greg began to wonder if he was being ignored.

"You." Greg let himself into the room and found Jason sitting on the bed, staring intently at his PSP, playing a video game that Greg's mom had bought him for his birthday. Greg sat down beside him and watched as Jason killed a few zombies on the small screen.

"Can we talk now? Or do you have to reach a save point?" he asked. Jason paused the game and tossed it on the bed.

"What?" he asked.

"What happened today at school."

"Jessie Faye called me a fag." Greg felt his heart drop, remembering a few times he and Nick had been turned out of resteraunts by staff saying that they didn't serve fags like them.

"Why did she say that?" he asked, trying to keep the pain out of his voice.

"I read my essay about our trip to Disneyland, and talked about how I had two dads."

"And?"

"And she told me that that was a sin and that I was a fag."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Do you believe that?"

"What?"

"What she said?"

"No!"

"Then what does it matter?"

"Everybody hates me because you're gay. Jessie didn't want to sit beside me and Mr. Hail made me move to the front of the class. Everyone was laughing at me and I hate it! I just want to be normal!"

Greg took a deep breath and looked at his son sadly.

"Through out our lives we are faced with things that suck. Somethings are within our control, some aren't. I'm sorry that the kids in your class said the things they said, but a lot of people just don't get it."

"It sucks."

"It does. Through your life, you're going to deal with a lot of people who don't know what to say to you, so they'll be mean."

"Why?"

"Because even in a world that has a lot of tolerance, people like your dad and I aren't always treated with respect."

"I don't get it."

"Someday you will. Right now all you get is that your class mates and your friends don't know how to respond. A lot of them were taught by their parents to be hateful."

"What do you do?"

"Me?"

"Yeah. When people call you names, what do you do?"

"Well...I just..." Greg thought of the pain and the cruel words. He and Nick both heard it fairly often when they went out, or by some of the people on swing and day shift.

"Dad?"

"I try to just ignore it."

"Really?" Jason didn't look like he believed it. Greg nodded.

"Yeah. Most people aren't going to listen if you try and talk to them. If you just walk away, ignore it, it usually works."

"I can't walk away in class. And Mr. Hail made me stay after class to talk about my temper because I yelled at the class."

"So you learned the important lesson that shouting doesn't work."

"What else could I do?"

"Jason, I don't really know. Losing your temper loses the argument though. Stay calm and try to ignore it. It's going to be hard, and I'm sorry for that, but you'll get used to the way people talk. Jessie had no right to say what she did, but I don't want it to change the way you see the world."

"I hate it!"

"I know. So do I."

"No! I hate you!"

"Why?"

"This is your fault."

"You know I love you right?"

"Yeah."

"You know Nick loves you right?"

"Yeah."

"You have a pretty good life, right?"

"I guess."

"So?"

"I just wish I had a mom."

"I know. But you have friends, who don't care if you have two dads, or no dads. You have a family who loves you."

Jason was quiet, not looking at Greg. He reached over and grabbed his game.

"Okay. I know I can't win you over in an hour. Just, don't shut us out. Nick and I love you and we want you to be happy. If you think it'll help, I'll talk to Mr. Hail tomorrow."

"Whatever."

"Okay. Tina will be over in an hour to make dinner. I'll check on you before we head for work, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Okay."

Greg left. Nick was waiting outside the door.

"How'd it go?" he asked. Greg shrugged.

"He hates us. But I think he'll get over it. I'm going to call his teacher tomorrow to talk about the behaviour of the class."

"Alright. Let's get some sleep before work. Catherine called, she told us we could start at 12 if we wanted."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

**A/N:** So? I promised to update more this summer since I'm out of school. Jason is going to be growing up quickly now. Ah! Teenage years fast approaching. I feel bad for Greg and Nick.


	13. Close to Home

**A/N: I will warn you of only one thing. You're going to hate me. Also, I'm trying to catch up with the show, so no Grissom and Sara because they've gone and disappeared. Ray and Riley are mentioned because they're the only ones I know are actually there.**

**Also, my apologies for not getting this posted. I have a little more time this month, but school is keeping me pretty busy. Enjoy**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Jason and any other names you don't recognize.**

Work had left both Nick and Greg physically and emotionally drained. A nine year old boy had been abducted from his bedroom in Henderson and they still had no leads, other than the newly discovered body of James Tyson, their victim.

They'd analyzed the crime scene, talked to the parents and started on the lists of pedophiles in the surrounding area, this time focusing on those that killed quickly. James had only been missing for a couple days before his body had been found.

His parents had checked in on him a little after ten to make sure that he wasn't up playing on his computer, and found his bed empty. They'd called police immediately and the clock started. That had been two days before, and the CSIs had torn the house apart looking for evidence. Twenty four hours later James Tyler's dead body was found at a park down the road, and a new clock started, this time pulling Nick and Greg into the mix, to analyze the new scene, while the others continued where they'd started when it was a missing person.

Now, after nearly eighteen straight hours of work, Catherine had sent them home to rest. They had both argued, but Catherine had won out in the end, telling them they were no good to the case if they were exhausted to the point of being nearly incoherent. So at five in the evening, their car pulled into the driveway of their house and they'd gone inside to see their own son for dinner.

They had orders to return no earlier than two in the morning, after a good night sleep so that they would be alert and ready. They had agreed, and fallen right into bed after telling their nanny, Tina, that she could leave if she wanted, and let herself back in at midnight.

So they slept. It was not a deep sleep, and it was haunted by nightmares of the young boy's face and Dr. Robbins reciting the injuries he'd sustained, and the abuse he'd suffered in those short hours.

Greg awoke in a cold sweat. He crept from the room he shared with Nick, down the hall to Jason's. He leaned against the door and took a few deep breaths. They were still on edge from their argument and he wanted to give the boy his space. But his nightmares had put Jason's face on the body of the victim and Greg couldn't go back without checking.

He silently slipped into his son's room.

***

Catherine's phone rang, waking her up from the nap she was taking in her office. It took a few seconds for her to gather her thoughts enough to grab the ringing phone.

"Willows," she muttered into the receiver, silently cursing which ever bureaucrat thought he should check the progress of the case.

"Catherine." The voice on the other line sounded dead and hollow, like one trying to hold it all together when they were falling apart inside. She sat up quickly.

It was Nick.

"Nick, what is it?" she asked.

"It's....it's...Jason." Her heart skipped a beat and pounded painfully in her chest. She did not like where this was going.

"No," she breathed.

"He's gone. You have to get down here. You just...there's no way...I..." Nick trailed off; the effort of being strong was too much.

"I'll be right over. Hang on." She basically ran out of the room, grabbing Ray and Riley on her way.

"What's going on, Catherine?" asked Ray. She shook her head as they climbed into the lab van and she sped off towards the too familiar house that Nick and Greg lived in.

"Nick and Greg's son, Jason, is missing," she said.

"How old is he?" asked Riley. She hadn't been to the Stokes-Sanders residence or met Jason for that matter.

"He's ten now, or about ten. He is, obviously, adopted by Nick and Greg when he was very young, probably only a month old."

"Wasn't the Tyler kid adopted as well?" asked Ray.

"Adopted at birth by the Tylers," confirmed Catherine.

"Do you think this just became a serial case?" asked Riley.

"I don't know. But we're going to find out before something happens to Jason."

"Of course," agreed Ray.

***

Nick watched, even helped, Ray and Riley tear apart his house, going through everything. Tina had been called in and was answering Brass's questions about working for Nick and Greg, taking care of Jason, and any odd occurrences around the neighbourhood.

Greg was in hysterics, completely unable to help; he looked on from the living room as the others worked.

"Please, Greg, you have to think for me," said Catherine. Greg nodded, barely able to keep from crying again.

"Okay," he said his voice shaky.

"Ray examined Jason's bedroom, and says it looks like he might have snuck out."

Greg closed his eyes tight and shook his head, not in disagreement but in defeat.

"We had an argument the other day. He told me he hated me because his friends at school were picking on him. He blames me and Nick for everything that's happened lately and I guess...he...he didn't run away."

"How do you know?"

"He's ten! Catherine, he wouldn't do that!"

"Greg..."

"I tried to call his cell phone, and he won't answer. He always answers, even if it's just to hang up on me."

"Greg..."

"Something has happened to my son, Catherine and I don't know...I can't...you have to..." He broke down again, unable to believe that Jason had simply run away.

"Greg, we'll put out an APB, and see if he turns up, but we don't have anything to go on right now."

"I know..." he choked through his sobs.

***

The hours passed slowly. Greg called Jason's phone until it had died, and still no answer. Nick helped the other CSIs work the case of who had killed James Tylers, praying with every breath that the same would not happen to his son.

By noon they had a suspect; a name that came up a few too many times and Ray and Catherine were gone to pick him up.

Nick worked through stacks of evidence, finding the smallest pieces to confirm their suspicions.

The suspect was in the wind. His neighbours had seen him with a young boy the day before that matched James' description. More important, they had seen him with a different boy the night before that matched Jason's.

Nick wasn't sure whether to be relieved that they were getting close or horrified that his son was in the possession of a kidnapper.

According to the witnesses the suspect, Richard Whitely, had walked the boy into the house and carried him out.

Nick nearly broke down at this news, not sure if it meant that his son was dead, or if the boys had been drugged or just asleep. He literally threw up as the images of what the sick bastard had done to his son swarmed through his head.

He passed the evidence to Hodges and Riley and disappeared home to be with Greg.

An APB went out for Whitely and his credit cards were flagged. Calls poured in with reports of people seeing Jason and his abductor. Greg wouldn't leave Jason's room, and Nick wouldn't leave Greg's side. They prayed, cried, and said absolutely nothing while their team searched.

Twenty long hours had passed and Greg was in shock, knowing if they didn't hurry, his son could possibly be dead within a day.

And that's when his phone rang.

***

OH!

I am so very mean.

I'll have a new chapter up tomorrow. I promise!


	14. Nightmares

**Disclaimer: I own...Jason, and any names you don't know. **

**A/N: I think I said I would have this up 2 days ago, but school got crazy, work called, and I didn't get it up. So here we go.**

*******

Nick was rambling off all he knew on the way to the crime scene; a hunting cabin out of the city limits not far from where James Tyson's body was found.

"Whitely lives with this guy, Dr. Ross Methole, who is the councillor at the boy's school."

"Jason's?"

"And James Tyson's. Methole works specifically with students who are adopted, or coming in from broken homes."

"God."

"Methole took Whitely in so that he could be in the continuous presence of a councillor. Brass thinks that Whitely took to looking through Methole's files and that's how he found James."

"And Jason."

"And Jason. Apparently Jason and James knew each other. They and a few other boys became close friends through the councillor. They hung out because of a similarity in situations. Jason, James, and three other boys got together each week with Methole."

"Jason was saying something about that."

"It was a support thing for adopted children. Methole confessed that the boys had told him about sneaking out to hang out in the neighbourhood."

"And he didn't tell us?"

"He talked to the boys, and they said they'd stop. Brass is looking into it. Either way, Methole isn't going to be working at the school very long."

"Good."

They arrived on the outskirts of town, where an ambulance had it's lights on, and a body was being loaded into the coroner's van. Greg bit back tears as they got out of the car. They walked towards the paramedics quickly, and nearly ran into Brass.

"Vic died of a single gun shot wound, just like James Tyson. You boys get to figure out if it's the same gun."

"Get out of my way," said Greg, pushing passed the detective, Nick right behind him.

They got closer to the ambulance and the paramedics stepped away.

"Dad!"

Jason jumped off the edge of the ambulance and ran, throwing himself into Greg's arms. Tears streamed down the faces of all three men, and Greg held his son close to him.

"I was so worried I'd lost you."

"I'm sorry, dad! I know it was stupid. I just…I just…I'm sorry!" The boy cried into Greg's shoulder, as Greg clung to him. Nick held them both tight, their family reunited. Greg let go of his son, holding him at arm's length to look the boy over.

"Are you alright? Did he hurt you? Did he…"

Jason shook his head.

"I don't think so…I don't remember much." A paramedic hovered near by, and stepped in at that point.

"He shows signs of having been drugged. Other than that, he seems to be fine," she said. Greg smiled at her and fought back tears again.

"Greg," said Brass, appearing behind the men. "We need to talk to Jason, about what happened."

Greg nodded, tears slipping out.

"Okay. Let's go. Jason, Detective Brass needs to talk to you about what happened. Are you ready for that?"

Jason nodded, and looked at his feet.

"Am I in trouble?" he asked, the first time sounding like the scared ten year old he was.

"No," said Greg, still holding his son at arm's length, "Not at all! Why would you say that?"

Jason shrugged.

"Let's go somewhere a little quieter," suggested Brass, leading the family towards his car, parked in the perimeter of the Crime Scene tape, which was tied to his side view mirror.

"Alright, Jason, can you tell me what happened? From the beginning?" asked Brass. Jason looked at Greg and Greg forced a smile.

Nick dropped to his knees and put his hand on Jason's shoulder.

"It's alright, Jason. You can tell us what happened. Nobody is mad at you, and you're not going to get in trouble. We just need to know what happened. Okay?"

Jason nodded and looked up at Brass. The detective smiled.

"You want to sit down? I'll let you sit in the driver's seat, 'kay?" Jason smiled a little.

"Yeah." Brass opened the door and Jason sat down in the driver's seat. Greg moved around to sit in the passenger seat of the car, and Nick hovered behind Brass.

"Okay, Jason, why don't you tell us what happened when you left your house last night?" asked Brass.

"I headed to the park. That's where we meet."

"You and James?"

"And Kevin, David and Lincoln. The other boys in the group at school."

"You met through your councillor? Dr. Methole?"

"Yeah. Dr. M is pretty cool, and he told us that we could depend on each other. We told him about getting together, and he told us we shouldn't do that."

"But you did anyways."

"Yeah. I'm sorry, Dads. I guess I was just upset. But Lincoln knew what I was going through. He has two moms."

"So you met up with the boys?" prompted Brass.

"No. I ran into him first."

"Richard Whitely?" asked Brass. Greg inhaled sharply. Jason looked over his shoulder at his dad and nodded.

"Yeah. He said he was a friend of Dr. M's. He knew my name and told me that Dr. M wanted to talk to me about being out by myself at night. He knew a lot of stuff."

"About you?"

"And the other boys. I thought he was cool. He said he knew my dads."

"Us?" asked Nick, his eyes getting big.

"Yeah…" whispered Jason. "I didn't think…"

"Hey, you're doing great. What happened next?"

"We went back to his place. I knew it was Dr. M's because his car was parked out front. So I went inside. He gave me a glass of water and I don't remember anything after that."

"Oh God," gasped Greg, pain hitting his heart like fire. He was certain that monster had hurt his little boy while he was obviously drugged. Jason looked back at his dad again.

"I woke up inside the house. I didn't know where he was, but it was really dark."

"Jason, where did the gun come from?" asked Brass.

"It was on the table."

"The coffee table?" asked Brass, referring to a part of the floor plan Nick and Greg were not familiar with.

Jason nodded quickly.

"So what happened next?"

"I was really cold, and…I could hear him coming towards me from the other room. I…I was scared. I grabbed the gun."

"Did you know what you were going to do?"

"No. I just wanted to scare him and I wanted to get out of there."

"So you grabbed the gun?"

"Yeah…so I could be like Dad and scare him."

"Then?"

"He came in to the room I was in. He saw that I was awake and he smiled and he started to walk towards me. I held up the gun, like they do in the movies. He tried to grab it. And…and…and…" Jason started to cry, sobs breaking through his steady voice and Greg wrapped his arms around him.

"Shhhh. It's okay, Jason. You're doing great. Just a little more," he whispered, but he couldn't fight back his own tears. Nick stood numb in the back ground, unable to completely understand what was being said. This hadn't happened, not to his little boy.

"Jason?" said Brass. "Did you shoot Richard Whitely?" Jason shook his head quickly.

"I don't…I don't think so…but there was a shot and then he was lying on the floor. I think the gun just went off. I swear I didn't do it on purpose."

"Hey, it's okay. No one's blaming you. It's alright. You're done. Now, one more thing though. What did you do after the shot?"

"I called Dad."

"Why'd you do that? Why not 9-1-1?"

"Because everyone calls Dad when there's trouble. I thought that's what I was supposed to do."

Nick almost laughed out loud at that. How many times had he complained that everyone called him in an emergency? To the point he'd jokingly suggested his number must be listed as 9-1-1.

"Alright, Jason. You're all done for now. Your dads will take you home and you get some sleep. Bet you won't be sneaking out any time soon."

Jason shook his head quickly.

"Never."

The detective smiled and nodded to Nick and Greg, letting the family be together. Nick took Jason's hand and the three of them headed home.

***

A/N: And there. I know! I'm terrible! I promise you this though, nothing bad will happen to Jason anymore…not for a while at least.


	15. dinner talk

**A/N: This chapter was inspired by my 12 year old sister and some required fluffiness. It's also quite short, but hopefully some new stuff soon. I'm back in school, so might be a while. **

**Disclaimer: Jason is mine. Nothing else. **

Greg had noticed something different about Jason recently. The twelve year old had picked a small bouquet of flowers on their walk to school the other day and refused to say why. He had returned home without them, and Greg had decided at the time that they were for his teacher.

Then he'd collected a few of the chocolates out of the box Nick had brought home and put them aside in a little bag. Again Greg had asked and receive an "I'm saving them."

Then like an adult he had grabbed his dad's one day after dinner before they left for work.

"I have something really important to tell you," he declared. Nick and Greg shared a surprised look and then looked at the boy.

"What's on your mind, Jason?" asked Greg.

"Dad, Dad, I want to tell you," he took a deep breath, held it for a second, and let it out. "I have a girl friend."

If he hadn't looked so entirely serious, the two men might have laughed from sheer relief and the humour of it.

"Congrats, Jason," said Nick with a smile, trying really hard to be just as serious as the boy.

"Yes, that's wonderful," added Greg. "What's her name?"

Jason smiled a wide smile.

"Her name is Claire. She's in my math class. She's really pretty and really smart."

"Do we get to meet her?" asked Nick. Jason's smile disappeared.

"Why?"

"Well, it would be like a date. You could bring her over for dinner and then another time you could go over there and have dinner with her family," said Nick.

"Oh…yeah. I guess."

"You guess?" asked Greg.

"I don't know, I hadn't thought that far yet."

"It was just the giving her flowers, and what, holding her hand?" asked Nick.

"And a kiss on the cheek."

"But you don't want her to meet your dads?"

"It's not like that. It's just…" Jason fidgeted a little and then sighed, "you guys will make a big deal about it."

This time Nick did laugh, just a little and Greg shook his head.

"If we promise not to, will you invite her over for dinner?" asked Greg smiling.

"But you will! You'll do that thing, where you go all…all…motherly!" declared Jason. Nick was having a hard time stopping the giggles that were slipping through.

"And Dad will just do that thing where he looks at you like he really wants to say something but isn't going to because it will be embarrassing!" continued the boy.

"Alright," said Greg. "We won't push this on you, but you should think about it. If you want to, I promise to behave and not mother you. And Nick will act like a grown up. It would be good."

"I'll think about it."

"Jason? Are you trying to hide us from her?" asked Greg, suddenly worried that it was the situation that was keeping Jason from inviting his girlfriend over.

"No!"

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. She already knows, and she says she's cool with it."

"Alright, if you're sure then. If you change your mind, you know we'd love to meet her."

"Well, you might get to anyways, even if she didn't come over."

"Oh?" asked Greg. Nick was trying not to break down laughing as the situation developed.

"Well, there's a school family dance next week. Tina said she'd take me, but I'd kind of like it if you both came." Greg smiled a huge smile.

"We'd love to take you. You're not ashamed of us anymore?"

"I wasn't ashamed of you! I was just…"

"I know. It was hard. I'm sorry for that."

"Whatever. It's next Friday at 7."

"We'll be there. But for now, Nick and I have to get ready for work. Anything else you wanted to talk about?"

"Nope. I'm gonna go play x-box."

"Don't stay up all night," said Nick.


End file.
